Forskrift om brannforebygging § 9 and § 10: what the owner must have in place

01 What § 9 says: the owner's systematic safety work

Forskrift om brannforebygging has a chapter of its own on the owner's duties. § 9 carries the heading «Eierens systematiske sikkerhetsarbeid», the owner's systematic safety work.

In the owner's language it means that fire safety cannot rest on one inspection a year and a binder in the basement. The owner must know which requirements apply to the building, have routines that make sure they are followed, and check that the routines and the safety measures actually work. When something does not work, it must be followed up and put right.

In its guidance to the regulation, DSB describes this work as work that makes sure the building is inspected, maintained and upgraded so that the probability of fire is reduced, and the consequences are as small as possible if a fire does occur.

The wording of § 9 is in the regulation at Lovdata. The point for the owner is simple: there has to be a system, and the system has to work in practice, not only on paper.

The system is not the binder. The system is that somebody follows up.

02 What § 10 says: the owner's documentation

§ 10 carries the heading «Eierens dokumentasjon», the owner's documentation. It ties into everything else in the chapter: the knowledge of the building, inspection and maintenance, upgrading and the systematic safety work.

The owner must be able to document that the duties are met. This is the documentation the fire service asks for at an inspection.

It sounds simple. In practice this is where many owners feel they stand weakest. The reports exist, but they sit with the supplier, in an e-mail or with a property manager who has left. The routines exist, but nobody has written them down. The deviations are closed, but nobody can show when, by whom and with what.

§ 10 does not demand more work than § 9. It demands that the work can be shown.

03 What the fire service looks for at an inspection

An inspection by the fire service is rarely a visit to count fire extinguishers. It is a review of whether the owner is in control of the building.

The owner is typically asked to show a few things.

The documentation: that inspection and maintenance of the fire alarm, extinguishing equipment, escape routes and other safety installations have been carried out, and that this can be shown.

The system: that routines exist, that the people who are to follow them know them, and that somebody checks that they are followed.

The responsibility: who owns the building, who uses it, who has been given which tasks, and what has been agreed between them.

The follow-up: that deviations from the last inspection or the last audit have been followed up, and that this can be documented.

The fire service assesses and writes the inspection report. Those who can show these things use the inspection to have what they already know confirmed. Those who cannot get a report with deviations and deadlines.

04 Where § 9 and § 10 slip in practice

It rarely slips because the owner does not care. It slips in the handovers.

The binder. The documentation sits in a binder, a folder or an inbox. It is complete the day it was made, and grows less true with every month that passes. Nobody sees that an inspection is overdue until somebody asks.

A change of board or property manager. A new board takes over the building, but not the understanding. The previous chair knew why the sprinkler system was inspected by that particular supplier, and what had been agreed about the deviations that stood open. It is not in the minutes.

Supplier reports that are not followed up. The supplier delivers a report with findings. The report is sent, perhaps read, and filed. The findings do not become tasks with a responsible person and a deadline. At the next inspection the same findings are there again.

All of this is § 9 and § 10 in practice. The system does not exist, or it cannot be shown.

05 How FireHub makes § 9 and § 10 everyday work

FireHub is built for exactly these two sections. Not as a new binder, but as a system that makes the work visible while it happens.

You put in what you have about the building. FireHub reads it and shows what is missing. The right person gets one question on their phone, and the answer is remembered when people change.

Then it becomes clear what is documented and what must be followed up. An inspection that falls due is shown as due. A finding in a supplier report becomes a required task, with a responsible person. What is documented is shown as documented. What is open stays open until a person has confirmed it.

FireHub approves nothing. FireHub suggests. People confirm.

The right person gets the question. The board does not have to remember who to ask. The question goes to the one who can answer, and the answer is logged with the building.

Everything is logged with the building, not with the person. When the board changes, the property manager is replaced or the supplier is changed, the history stays. The new chair sees what was done, why, and what is still open.

That is § 9 and § 10 in everyday life: a system that works, and documentation that can be shown the day the fire service asks. The responsibility still rests with the owner.

06 Where to start

FireHub Baseline is the first step: FireHub goes through the documentation you have and shows what is documented, what is missing and who has to answer.

It is not a project. It is a review of what you already have, and a list of what must be followed up.

From that day on, § 9 and § 10 are something the building does every week, not something the owner searches for the night before an inspection.